[8] He is the author of several books on film and music, including It's Only A Movie, The Good The Bad and The Multiplex, Hatchet Job and How Does It Feel?.

He is the co-author of Hollywood: Sixty Great Years (with Jack Lodge, John Russell Taylor, Adrian Turner, Douglas Jarvis and David Castell),[9] The Movie Doctors (with Simon Mayo),[10] and Mark Kermode's Surround Sound (with Jenny Nelson).

Since 2008, the Dodge Brothers (with Neil Brand) have provided live accompaniment for silent films such as Beggars of Life, Hell's Hinges, White Oak and The Ghost That Never Returns.

[14][15][16] Kermode's mother was a GP, who was born in Douglas, Isle of Man, and practised in Golders Green, north London.

[18][19] His parents divorced when he was in his early twenties, and he subsequently changed his surname to his Manx mother's maiden name by deed poll.

[7] Kermode began his film career as a print journalist, writing for Manchester's City Life, and then Time Out and NME in London.

He has subsequently written for a range of publications including The Guardian, The Observer, The Independent, Vox, Empire, Flicks, 20/20, Fangoria, Video Watchdog and Neon.

He hosted a movie review show with Mary Anne Hobbs on Radio 1 on Tuesday nights called ClingFilm.

Kermode has worked on film-related documentaries including The Fear of God; 25 Years of The Exorcist,[26] Hell on Earth: The Desecration and Resurrection of Ken Russell's The Devils, Alien: Evolution,[27] On the Edge of Blade Runner,[28] Mantrap: Straw Dogs – The Final Cut, Shawshank: The Redeeming Feature, The Poughkeepsie Shuffle: Tracing the French Connection, Salo: Fade to Black, The Real Linda Lovelace[29] and The Cult of The Wicker Man.

[31] Prior to becoming chief film critic in 2013, he wrote "Mark Kermode's DVD round-up" for The Observer, a weekly review of the latest releases.

[citation needed] In a 2012 Sight & Sound poll of cinema's greatest films, Kermode indicated his ten favourites, a list later published in order of preference in his book Hatchet Job, as The Exorcist, A Matter of Life and Death, The Devils, It's a Wonderful Life, Don't Look Now, Pan's Labyrinth, Mary Poppins, Brazil, Eyes Without a Face and The Seventh Seal.

[72] In September 2011, he released a follow-up book entitled The Good, the Bad and the Multiplex, in which he expresses his opinions on the good and bad of modern films, and vehemently criticizes the modern multiplex experience and the 3D film craze that had grown in the years immediately preceding the book's publication.

[76][77] Kermode co-hosted an early 1990s afternoon magazine show on BBC Radio 5 called A Game of Two Halves, alongside former Blue Peter presenter Caron Keating.

[79] In April 2008, Kermode started a twice-weekly video blog hosted on the BBC website, in which he discussed films and recounts anecdotes.

[80] Kermode has recorded DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD audio commentaries for Tommy (with Ken Russell), The Devils (with Ken Russell and Mike Bradsell), The Ninth Configuration (with William Peter Blatty), The Wicker Man[81] (with Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee and Robin Hardy), Gregory's Girl, Cruising[82] (with William Friedkin), Bait,[83] Enys Men[84] (both with Mark Jenkin) and (with Peter O'Toole) Becket.

They were the house band on the BBC show Danny Baker After All for a series, starting in 1993,[95][96] in which he performed with the Madness lead singer Suggs, Nick Heyward, Alison Moyet, Aimee Mann, Nanci Griffith, Tim Finn and Squeeze.

[19] Kermode has been described as "a feminist, a near vegetarian (he eats fish), a churchgoer and a straight-arrow spouse who just happens to enjoy seeing people's heads explode across a cinema screen".

[100] This developed into a high-profile national campaign involving people from left-wing groups such as the RCG, local residents of Manchester and extending to church leaders and Labour Party Members of Parliament.